WORST KEPT SECRET – PELLETIER SIGNS 

WHALE SIGNS GOALTENDER PIER-OLIVIER PELLETIER TO PTO

*           *           *           *

Played in 21 games this season for the CHL’s Laredo Bucks

HARTFORD, CT –Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the club has signed goaltender Pier-Olivier Pelletier to a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO)

Pelletier, a 6-2, 200-pound second-year pro, comes to the Whale from the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League, for whom he has played in 21 games this season, posting a record of 6-9-4 with one shutout. Pelletier owns a 3.33 goals-against average for the Bucks, as well as an 89.5% save percentage.

The Phoenix Coyotes drafted Pelletier with the 59^th overall pick in the second round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old native of St-Louis-du-Ha!Ha!, Quebec played 165 career games in four seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, for the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Halifax Mooseheads, going 78-62-9 with a 3.24 GAA, an 88.7% save percentage and four shutouts.

Pelletier played 12 games for the University of Waterloo in 2008-09 before turning professional, and split last season among the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH, the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL and the Bucks.

The Whale are back in action tomorrow night, Friday, January 21, hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs in a 7:00 PM game at the XL Center.  Fans can meet ex-Hartford Wolf Pack favorites Todd Hall and Terry Virtue, who will be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium from 6:00-7:00 PM, and being a Friday night, it’s a Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start as low as $48 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Whale souvenir. Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center ticket office and on-line at www.CTwhale.com.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center ticket office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

The AHL’s CT Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin.  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Since 1972, the CT Lottery has generated more than $19.3 billion in sales and has transferred nearly $6.7 billion to the state’s General Fund.  Prizes have exceeded more than $11.1 billion.  Purchasers must be 18 years or older.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-346-6238.  For more information about the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, call (860) 713-2000, or visit the CT Lottery web site at www.ctlottery.org.